O'Malley John E, Koocher Gerald, Foster Diana, Slavin Lesley
Sidney Farber Cancer Institute.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1979 Oct;49(4):608-616. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1979.tb02646.x.
Increasing survival rates for children with cancer raise questions about the long-term psychosocial impact of the disease and its treatment. Psychiatric evaluations of 114 survivors of childhood malignancies suggest a high rate of adjustment problems, with 59% indicating at least mild psychiatric symptomology. Interviews with former patients highlight the importance of adaptive denial in the face of the uncertainty connected with cancer survival.
